


What Now?

by salty_limeade



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: 2 dumb idiots who don't realize they in love yet but thats ok we love em still, Ambiguous Relationships, Fell universe, Friendship/Love, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Hurt Fresh, Idiots in Love, InK nO, Ink this isnt how u deal with shit, Oblivious Fresh, Oblivious Reader, Other, Reader is from any sorta fell Au, Somewhere, Strong Language, True!Fresh - Freeform, Tsundere Reader, can fresh feel????? or is he simply appreciative, cursing, for all yall who wanna see more of the parasite, fresh cant really feel but its kinda ambiguous, i may or may not exapnd upon these two in particular but shhhhh, ink bouta catch these hands smh, ink does a bad, nonbinary reader, protective Reader, reader and fresh are straight up bros but there is underlying feelings, reader can and will kick ass, reader cares but stars forbid anyone mentions it, rip random winsum i used as an opening you will be missed, thats all reader, the world may never know, this one goes out to you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:20:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25635703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/salty_limeade/pseuds/salty_limeade
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple host run. That was it! Just grab his host, and skedaddle.....You were never meant to find out.(Reader/Fresh Oneshot)
Relationships: Fresh & Reader, Fresh/reader, Ink & Fresh, Reader & Fresh, Reader/Fresh
Comments: 15
Kudos: 97





	What Now?

**Author's Note:**

> GOOD EVENING CHILDREN! 
> 
> First off I wanna say I hope ya'll are staying safe right now in the midst of alla this stuff. Wash your hands and poke people with cattle prods if they get within six feet! 
> 
> This little bad boy has been in the works for a whole damn YEAR because I have no concept of a schedule or motivation! I actually started this immediately after completing my other Reader/Fresh oneshot, but it took me this long to finish..... But regardless! I do hope you enjoy some more fluffy moments between Reader and Fresh!
> 
> Until next time kids~

“P-please. Let me g-o.” The Monster in front of him, a Winsum, trembled at his feet. He almost didn’t understand it through all the pitiful crying. 

**_Pathetic._ **

“Heh, sorry broseph, but no-can-do. I gotta all up steal your Soul ta keep me alive! Nothin’ personal brah!” In a single swift moment the sobbing Monster was crushed to dust under the parasite’s heelys. 

A small white light appeared over the fresh pile of dust, still quaking with fear. Fresh grabbed it before it could shatter and tossed it into his mouth, absorbing the Soul like he did with the rest of the Monsters in the Ruins. He sighed with relief as the cracking of his host’s Soul slowed. He really needed to find this Universe’s Sans soon, this old host wasn’t going to last much longer, though the weaker Monsters’ Souls helped with delaying that. 

Carefully dodging the piles of dust littered throughout the purple stone hallway, Fresh continued on his way to Snowdin. 

* * *

Ink hopped out of the puddle of paint with a scowl on his face and a chip on his shoulder. 

Error had destroyed  _ thirteen _ different timelines in the past hour alone! Ink had to drink half of his vial of red paint just to combat the Destroyer’s sudden spree. He had thought the glitch was taking a break, which would have let the artist sit in the Doodlesphere in an attempt to flush out all of the extra red paint. 

Emphasis on  _ thought. _

Ink had felt a sharp sting in his rib cage not even a few seconds ago, alerting him to the failing stability of one of his creations. He brought a hand to rub at his sternum as a particularly nasty jolt of pain shot through the vacant hole where his Soul would be. 

Ink’s footsteps echoed across the empty Ruin halls, piles and piles of dust coated the ground. He could feel the red paint bubble up to the surface of his non-existent Soul.  _ How could anyone do this to another living creature?  _

_ I am going to make that glitch  _ **_pay_ ** _. _

All too soon, Ink was running down the stairs of Toriel’s house, making it to the basement in a matter of seconds. He ran even faster as he passed by the kind goat woman’s dust, not yet settled on the cold stone floor. 

With a flying kick, Ink sent the slightly ajar Ruin doors flying outward, the hinges groaning from the sudden and violent use. 

The sight that met him made the Creator see  _ red _ .

In all of his years in the Multiverse as the Creator, Ink was expected to know a lot and have seen even more. Somewhere in that time, he had met Fresh. Ink couldn’t say that he hated the parasite, after all, the two were similar in some ways.

Both Soulless mistakes that should have never  **_existed._ **

.

.

.

But the thing was, Ink could feel. Fresh couldn’t.

Compassion, sadness, fear, joy… anger. They may have been fake, hollow echoes of what so many others could feel, but it was something. The parasite didn’t have that though. Everything he ‘felt’ was an imitation, an act meant to lure others into a false sense of security just long enough until he could get what he wanted, and dispose of them. 

Maybe it was pity, or understanding that led the artistic skeleton to leave Fresh be for the most part. As long as he didn’t completely destroy the AU, Ink would let him get his host and go. And sometimes, the parasite would repay him via errands, or even information on some of the more volatile inhabitants of the Multiverse. 

Any other day, Ink would have turned around, and gone back to the Doodlesphere. 

.

.

.

_ He shouldn’t have drank all that red paint. _

The Sans of this AU, Dancetale copy #28, was struggling in the iron-like grip of Fresh. A writhing mass of purple tentacles were inching their way through his eye sockets towards the parasite’s next victim. Sans’ struggling increased when one of the tentacles got close enough to graze his cheekbone. 

The Creator’s bones burned with a primal rage he had only felt in his battles with Error. This… this  _ thing _ was going to take his precious creation and twist it into some disgusting amalgamation of what it once was. Ink  _ refused  _ to stand by and let it happen, not this time.

Tearing Broomie from the confines of his sling on the artist’s back, he let these new emotions fuel his intent. The once black paint turned a vibrant scarlet, contrasting starkly with the light brown bristles. Bringing his arms back in a wide arc…

_ He swung. _

* * *

……

.

.

.

…… what?

Why was everything red? 

Where was his host?

Why did it  _ hurt? _

_ Why did everything  _ **_hurt?_ **

It hurt  _ so  _ **_much._ **

**_M a k e i t s t o p ._ **

.

.

.

***** **Fresh ran away.**

* * *

“Motherfucker!” 

You held your foot with one hand while using the other to lean on the back of the couch. You grit your teeth as your toe throbbed with pain.  _ Great, just fucking great, I’m late for work, and now I have to deal with a stubbed toe. I swear if one more thing goes wrong I'm going to-. _

A jarring noise broke you out of your internal monologue, it sounded like someone tearing a large stack of paper in half, followed by a loud thud. Your head shot up and turned in the direction of the kitchen where you heard the suspicious noises. 

As quietly as you could, you began to inch your way to the small section of your apartment. As you passed by the end table outside of the archway leading to the room, you carefully grabbed the small candle laying atop it. Just in case.

You peeked your head past the door frame, while keeping the rest of your body hidden behind it. Your eyes scanned the dirty tiles and even dirtier dishes piled up in the much too small sink. You stood stock still, assessing the room for a minute or so before you let the tension leave your shoulders.  _ Phew, must’ve been the dishes shifting or something. Can’t believe I overreacted like th-.  _

A sudden flash of purple darting behind your busted coffee maker had you tensing up all over again. 

.

.

.

There was a wild animal in your kitchen. 

_ … Well fuck me I guess. _

You backed out of the room as quietly as you had come in, leaving the candle on your scratched coffee table. After rummaging in your closet, you found a small plastic tote that you had saved from your moving days. You made your way back to the kitchen and as inconspicuous as you could, moved the tote so that it blocked the only exit to the room. You placed some of your heavier books on the other side to keep it from tipping over should the unidentified animal run into it. 

With your trap set, it was time to try and draw the creature out. You preferred not to hurt....whatever it was, but if the little fucker bit you, all bets were off. 

You tiptoed to where you last saw it, so that you were looming ominously over that corner of the kitchen. 

_ … In hindsight, that was probably not the best move. _

As if sensing your presence, the creature bolted from behind the old appliance and took off down the counter. It was moving too fast for you to pick up any solid details, but you thought you saw… more than one tail?

You dashed off after it, trying to corral it off the countertop at the very least. As it neared the exit, you lunged at it, trying to… you honestly aren’t sure what you were thinking when tried to grab the clearly startled animal that carried who knows what kind of diseases. 

Your fingers grazed its flesh- _ wait, flesh?! _ -which only spurred it on. Now in a blind panic, the creature leapt off the counter and straight into your trap, backing itself into one of the corners. You skidded to a halt as it hissed at you, bristling with  ~~ fear ~~ anger. 

Quick as a whip you tilted the tote into an upright position, making the creature hiss again. You hissed right back, baring your teeth in a snarl. It became quiet, and you smirked lightly. 

Hefting the tote into your arms, but being careful to not put your face too close to the opening, you began to lug it to your living room. Gently  ~~ not really ~~ , you place your prize onto the coffee table, taking a seat on your couch as you did so.  _ Finally _ , you get to see just exactly what it is that you caught running around your apartment. 

.

.

.

_ … Okay what the ever loving fuck is this? _

You lowered yourself to be eye level of the tote, causing the creature to squeeze itself into the corner tighter than it already was  ~~ not that you noticed or anything ~~ . This was  _ definitely  _ not an animal you had seen let alone heard of before. 

For starters, you’re pretty sure it isn’t even a mammal. Instead of having soft fur, it’s completely bare, with purple skin being its only protection from the elements. And what you had mistaken for tails were actually tentacles, four of them! From your angle it didn’t seem to have suction cups, but it  _ was  _ curled up pretty tight. And then there was its  _ eye _ . A single large eye stared back at you through the cheap plastic barrier. It had a pitch black sclera with a small ring of yellow surrounding what you were guessing was its red iris, its black pupil was little more than a dot. And like the cherry on top of the mother _ fucking  _ sundae, a ring of small but very sharp-looking teeth protrude from the skin around its eye, making a neat ring. 

_ Ah. _

_ Goddammit. _

“Huh.”

The creature flinched at the sound of your voice, eyeing you warily.  ~~ You were a little insulted. ~~

“Well, this is a bit of a problem.” You bit your lip and made a popping noise, something you tend to do when thinking hard about something. The creature relaxed slightly.  _ Odd. _

“Alright recap. I’m late for work, my foot hurts like a bitch, and now I have an animal-I think?-In my house.” You run a hand through your hair and sigh heavily. 

“Guess I gotta call out from work now. My boss is gonna fuckin' kill me.” You stand, causing the creature to tense up again. Keeping a careful eye on it, you pulled out your cell phone and rang up your boss, Muffet. 

It’s funny, thinking back on the shitstorm that happened not even six years ago. Finding out that, yes, Monsters were real and,  _ yes _ , they were sentient like the rest of the chucklefuck Humans. Despite that sentience though, Humans made it a real struggle for the magic-wielders to obtain equal rights. You were in all morbid honesty expecting a war to break out, had it not been for the little brunette child acting as their Ambassador and mediator. Because of them, after five long years of fighting, the more-than-rough-around-the-edges Monsters got full equal rights.

‘Course, that didn’t mean all the hate and racism went away, just that it was now illegal, which was something you guessed. As the phone continued to ring you could only grimace with anticipation at the verbal lashing you were going to get from your boss.

Muffet was one tough cookie back in the Underground, considering how many Monsters came into her parlor with debts on their backs and shit in their pants. Which is why you were a very unexpected surprise, just some random Human, waltzing into her business and ordering a dozen donuts, completely unfazed over the thousands of spiders crawling over the walls and ceiling. She was, expectedly, hostile with you at first, but as you kept returning she seemed to grow a soft spot for you, even offering you a job after you told her about being laid off from your last one. The rest was history…

“Dearie, this call better be you telling me that you are five seconds from arriving~.”

_ And so were you. _

You sucked in sharp breath, air whistling through your teeth as you braced yourself for the onslaught.

“Uh, h-hey Muff! So I know how you get when I'm late, and I know I already am, but uh… I don’t think I’ll be able to make it in today?” Stars you hated how pathetic you sounded. Too focused on the call, you failed to notice your  _ guest  _ start creeping towards the edge of the bin. 

There was an all too long pause on her side of the line, when she spoke you were already writing your last will and testament in your head, not expecting her to say-

“Oh, alright Dearie, I can just have you work a double this weekend anyway.  _ Ueee hee hee~! _ ”\

.

.

.

_ Excuse me what the fuck? _

“Muffet? Are there cobwebs in the receiver again or did you just tell me I don’t have to come in today?”  _ You still weren’t over the time one of her pets webbed the shit out of your phone, you had to go and get a new one with your  _ ~~_ crush _ ~~ _ friend.  _ ~~_ You couldn’t help but distantly wonder if he was doing alright, normally he would have called or texted you by now. _ ~~

“Not this time Y/N~. Even with your occasional tardiness you’ve  _ never  _ missed a day so whatever is keeping you must be important~.” You huffed out a small laugh.

“Yeah, I uh-I got a bit of an animal problem right now and I’m trying to figure what I’m gonna do ‘bout it.”

“Oh! Well then I'll let you get back to it~. See you Saturday Dearie~.”

“Thanks Muff, see ya later.” Pocketing your phone you let out a breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding.  _ Alright! Time to deal with- _

.

.

.

It seems your little friend wasn’t expecting you to be done so soon, seeing as how it had one tentacle hooked over the edge of the bin with the others bracing itself on the slippery surface. If you had to place an emotion it was feeling judging by its eye, you’d say ‘stoned taxidermy fox’. 

.

.

.

With startling speed it hopped back into the bin like it hadn’t been just a few seconds from freedom. 

“......”

“Okay then.” 

You… had honestly no idea what to do now. Without the threat of Muffet’s wrath looming ominously in the distance, you were drawing a blank on what to do with your little companion. On one hand you could just let it outside, but then it would probably get back in later.  ~~ That, and the fact that it looked like anything with teeth or claws could kill it instantly wasn’t sitting right with you. ~~ On the other hand, you could just call animal control to take care of it… but it was likely they would euthanize it. 

Which would be perfect! Not alive, not your problem anymore!

.

.

.

_ I’m too fucking soft… _

You slowly lowered yourself back onto the couch in a weak attempt to  _ not  _ send your little buddy into cardiac arrest. It was still wide-eyed and tense, but it looked much better than before so you were taking that as a win. 

“Hey there pal. I, uh, I’m y/n.” You smiled at the creature, doing your best to seem non-threatening, which was  _ a lot harder than it seemed. _

It loosened up even more, its pupil dilating a little. You took that as a sign to keep going.

“So I’m not gonna hurt ya, or anything like that. You just… spooked me is all, y’know? Wasn’t really expecting there to be an animal in my kitchen at like,” you check the time, “eleven thirty in the morning?” In the middle of your word vomit, you sent a text off to your friend. 

**You** (11:32)

hey, neon fever dream, could u come over rn? i got like an infestation or something and i’m too soft to kill it

There was no response, just your previous conversation where the two of you were rating different flavors of juice. 

You sighed and tossed your phone onto one of the couch cushions. 

“Fuckin’ hell, dunno why I’m even doing this. It’s not like you can understand me.” You stood to leave and fix yourself a cup of tea.  ~~ Fresh didn’t believe that you drank tea instead of coffee until he came to your apartment for the first time and saw the entire drawer you had dedicated to the delicious Leaf Water. ~~

A shrill chirping stopped you in your tracks. From inside the bin the creature was looking up at you with puppy-dog eyes, its tentacles pressed against the plastic wall in an effort to boost it higher.  ~~_ Okay that is unfairly cute. _ ~~

Eyeing the creature, you started once more to the kitchen. It’s chirping increased and it looked like it was trying to follow you, the erratic movements causing the bin to wobble dangerously close to the edge of the table. A decisive slap from a tentacle was all it needed for the bin to tip over the edge. You essentially dived to catch the bin before it hit the ground, bruising your knee on the corner of the table in the process. The starfish bastard still tumbled out onto the floor though, from there it quickly clambered up the couch and latched onto your phone, curling around it tightly. 

_ … Really?! _

With an angry huff you set the now empty tote onto the carpet and plop onto the couch a few inches away from the tiny kraken that was strangling your phone. 

“Dude, are you trying to eat my phone right now? ‘cause if you are I will actually throw you out of a window.” You glared at the creature because  _ fuck being less intimidating this bitch just indirectly caused you to hit the table and  _ something  _ had to be at fault.  _

It loosened its hold to stare at you for a second, before shifting its grasp to better hold the phone so you could see the screen. It had somehow unlocked your phone- _ how in the fuck?! _ \- and had accessed your notes, where a single word was written. 

'Yo!'

.

.

.

_ What? _

.

.

.

It hit you like a wet sack of mice that this creature, that you found in your kitchen, threatened and caught, was actually a  **_sentient Monster this entire time._ **

.

.

.

“You’re a Monster, aren’t you?” You stared blankly as the words ‘ Sure, we can go w/ dat’ were typed out. 

.

.

.

_ All around me are familiar faces- _

“Why? Just…  _ why? _ ” The Monster had the audacity to shrug. 

‘Dunno. Just sorta ended up here, ya dig?’ You sighed heavily.

“Do you at least have a name that I can call you? Can’t keep referring to you as ‘Monster’ the entire time.” The Monster curled up at that, looking away, almost shamefully. You hesitated.

“Look… if it’s something that’s, I dunno, embarrassing? I’m not gonna laugh or nothin’ I just need something to work with.” Slowly, the Monster tapped away at the phone screen, and flipped the phone around to face you. 

‘My name is Fresh’

* * *

You and Fresh had been friends for over a year, so he was very familiar with your behaviours. Seeing as how you were from a Fell Universe, the ‘Look at me wrong and I’ll bite your head off’ persona you displayed wasn’t abnormal in the slightest. And by that logic, it only made sense that deep down, you were actually a massive softie, but you would rather die than admit that openly. 

Maybe that’s why you and him got along so well, both of you had to act near  _ constantly  _ as a form of survival.  ~~ He didn’t want to admit it, but when he was around you, he tended to slip up more, forget that showing any sign of his true nature to anyone, including you, was an incredible risk. ~~

One thing he was sure about though, was that your energy was  _ not  _ an act. You were passionate about things, not everything like an Undyne would be, but certain mundane stuff. Not to mention your reactions, you always spoke your mind, exactly how you saw it. No smoke and mirrors, just brutal honesty, and you made your intentions  _ clear. _ There was never any guessing with you…

Which is why it scared Fresh so much to see how silent you were. 

You had been staring at him for at least a few minutes now, your face a blank mask with the only change in your expression being your wide eyes. Had he not known better, Fresh would’ve said that you looked Soulless. 

.

.

.

“....Fresh?” Your tone was soft with incredulity, like you were hoping that he would deny it. He could only shyly wave at you, uncomfortably aware of how easy it would be for you to take advantage of him in this state should you choose to. 

With a speed he didn’t know you possessed, you grabbed him and pulled him into your lap, the phone coming with him as he still held onto it.  ~~ He would deny for the rest of time that he squeaked when you did that. ~~

“What the fuck Fresh are you okay?! What happened, why are you this weird starfish thing now? Are you hurt? How Did You Get Into My Apartment? WHOSE ASS DO I NEED TO KICK!?!?” You were rambling now, holding him still with one arm while using the other to check him for injuries. You were noticeably distressed and getting worse by the second. If he didn’t stop you soon, you would spiral even more than you had. 

Feeling only a little bit sorry, he sunk his teeth into the soft flesh of your hand, causing you to pull back with a yelp. 

“Ow! Fresh what the fuck?!” You hissed at him, pulling your hands back. He only glared at you in response before going back to typing in the phone. 

‘R ya done?’

“I will be if you answer my questions, dipshit.” Ah, there you were. Same old Y/N. 

‘Ya haven’t answered mine’

He knew he was being a little shit, but he couldn’t help the unexplainable warmth that seeped into his being at seeing you relent, albeit reluctantly. You had to take a few calming breaths before answering though. 

“Yeah, ‘m chill.” 

‘Aight cool. So, ya prolly confused ya?’

“Confused doesn’t even begin to describe it,” you hissed, crossing your arms over your chest and sneering down at him. 

‘Well, guess I should start from da beginning then huh?’

* * *

“Okay so lemme get this straight. This entire time, you’ve been a dimension-hopping soulless parasite that uses the bodies of Monsters, specifically skeleton Monsters, to live and some prick whose name I refuse to remember out of spite  _ dusted  _ your host, and you wound up here. That about cover it?” 

‘That’s the basic gist ya. But I didn’t choose this place by random, more of instinct, ya feel?’

“I’m  _ feeling _ like I’m gonna  _ pass out _ ya fuck. Not to mention that this literally  _ confirms the theory of alternate universes but like  _ **_whatever_ ** _!” _ You dug the heel of your palms into your eyes, cursing your luck the whole time. You  _ really _ weren’t ready for the bombshell that your best friend was not a Monster at all, was soulless  ~~ which you had no idea what that entailed but weren’t about to ask now ~~ ,  _ and  _ that he came from a different universe.  _ So your day was going wonderfully! _

You felt a gentle tap on your arm, looking down you were greeted with more words on your phone screen. 

‘So….whatcha thinkin’? If it makes ya feel better, I don’t plan on takin’ your Soul or nothin’

That… The thought that Fresh might use  _ you  _ as a host had never even crossed your mind. It just seemed so far out there in the realm of possibilities… Plus you doubted his ability to do really much of  _ anything  _ to you when he was like this.  ~~ And you didn’t think he would go so far as to do that, not to you of all people at least. ~~

“I wasn’t worried, still aren’t. But… are you gonna be okay?” He didn’t have to write anything for you to be able to pick up on his confusion. You waved your hand around.

“I mean, shit dude you almost  _ died _ today! That’d fuck anybody up, which reminds me, if we ever come across this Artist Asshole point ‘em out so I can shove my foot up their ass.” He snickered a little at you calling Ink an ‘Artist  **Rad** hole’. 

‘Yeah bro. Like, it was totally wack in tha momento, but I’m cool as a cucumber now!’

The teeth around his eye compressed into what could be considered a smile as you mulled over his response. 

After a pause, you groaned, throwing your head back on the couch. 

“Fine, I won’t worry  _ audibly  _ anymore. But…” You paused and looked down at him, uncertain, “If you ever need to talk to me about something like this, I’m here for you, y’know?” 

Fresh curled up closer to you, wrapping a tentacle around your hand and squeezing. An unspoken agreement. You only grumbled in response, the faintest dusting of a blush on your cheeks.

“Fuckin’ idiot, what am I going to do with you.”

* * *

_ What am I going to do? _

Fresh was curled up in your loose embrace, the TV was playing some sort of ocean documentary quietly while you slept. You had changed positions to lay horizontally a while ago and had fallen asleep almost instantly, with Fresh being carried by the slow rise and fall of your chest. 

The day’s events were finally starting to catch up with him. And  _ stars _ was it a bad one. 

You discovered his true nature, something he  _ never  _ intended for you to find out, all because his stupid instincts equated you with safety.  ~~ Then again, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. He was right anyhow about you providing safety for him. ~~

Then there was the fact that Ink attacked him out of nowhere. Now he was going to have to reevaluate every alliance he ever made, no matter how shaky and try to figure out what went wrong. Maybe aligning with another Soulless being had been a bad idea. 

His dark thoughts were suddenly scattered when you grumbled something in your sleep, your face scrunching up for a second before smoothing back out. 

A warm, tingling sensation spread from Fresh’s center out to the tips of his tentacles, making them twitch. It was like someone dipped him in warm water. 

It felt… nice.

.

.

.

It was going to be okay. 

As exhaustion finally took hold of him, he could think only one thing:

_ I’m so lucky to have them…   
_

**Author's Note:**

> Ink: ohfuckohfuckohfuckofuckohfuck-  
> Dream: *pops in to visit Ink cause he hella gay for him*  
> Dream: *sees dust pile, Ink muttering to himself while looking alarmed, and a mentally scarred Sans*  
> Dream: Ink what the fuck.
> 
> Meanwhile
> 
> Fresh, chilling in Reader's arms while they sleep: .....have I contracted Feelings™????


End file.
